Brantley Slaughter, 78, constant champion for 'the little guy'
Linda Florea
Sentinel Staff Writer
January 14, 2009

Community activism brought out the best in Brantley Pate Slaughter. Orange County schools, fire stations, parks and individuals all benefited from his energy. He was known as the unofficial "mayor of Orlo Vista" throughout that little community just west of Orlando -- the person to consult when you needed help dealing with a government agency or official. "He always championed the cause of the little guy -- he'd expose stories of people who got mowed down by overbearing government, and he'd keep at it until he got the result he wanted," said Orlando Sentinel columnist Lauren Ritchie. "For Brantley, right was right and wrong was wrong, and he didn't care who got in the way." Slaughter died Jan. 6 from a heart attack. He was 78. An Orlando native, Slaughter worked with electronic equipment during a hitch in the Army. Later, he worked as an engineer at  an Orlando radio station that evolved into what is now WKMG-Channel 6, helping it make the transition from radio to TV. Charlie Bibber, another Orlo Vista resident, said he thinks Slaughter's activism was spurred by the Orange County School Board when it sought to take his home for the construction of Valencia Community College on Kirkman Road. Lawyers came at Slaughter with condemnation lawsuits, but not until a Valencia trustee asked what he wanted was a deal reached. Slaughter promoted community parks and better schools and lobbied for street lights and sidewalks. He and his blue truck were a daily sight at the neighborhood Publix, picking up food to deliver to the needy and elderly. He was happy to support other causes, too, and was well-known in nearby Pine Hills and farther north in Apopka. Until health problems made it too difficult for him, he and his wife, Wauneeta, would travel to Kissimmee on Saturdays to share  ice cream with children at "Give Kids the World." In the mid-1970s, he operated two community newspapers that he wrote and edited from home and often delivered himself. "If  they [politicians] were doing something that was not quite right, it would be in the paper," said Bibber, who knew Slaughter for more than 30 years. "He tried to keep people honest." Slaughter regularly attended school board and Orange County Commission meetings, and when he concluded that a particular politician was doing the right thing, he often helped out with the official's re-election campaign, regardless of party affiliation. "A lot of people sit around and complain to themselves and neighbors about what is wrong, and too few people roll up their sleeves and do something about it," said former county Commissioner Teresa Jacobs, who served from 2000 to 2008. "His purpose in life was to try to find a way to help other people. People like that always make a difference." And when Slaughter found a cause, he was dogged in his efforts "Brantley was as persistent as he was ornery. He didn't care how important someone thought they were or how small they thought his issue was," said Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell. "If Brantley thought a U.S. senator or lieutenant governor could help him get Orlo Vista kids another ball field, he'd try to track them down -- and usually didn't quit until he did. "I remember one time, years ago, when Brantley called and I could hear beeps in the background, and people ordering him to hang up the phone," Maxwell said. "Turns out it was doctors. Brantley was in the hospital -- literally moments away from  surgery and with the sedatives starting to take effect. But he told the docs he had to get out the word about problems at a school-crossing zone right then -- in case he never woke up." 
In addition to his wife, Slaughter is survived by two sons, David Slaughter of Orlando and Mike Slaughter of Ontario, Canada; daughters Sue Slaughter of Orlando, Colleen Moore of Lancaster, Ky., and April Emigh of Birmingham, Ala.; nine grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.